A Rose For Jonathan (Angels and Demons Series Book 1) Chapter 1
by TheGreenAuthor
Summary: Shadows and lights haunt a young preacher and he is forced to search for answers to why he has been given such a strange look into the spiritual world around him. Angels and demons fight for control of him, his family, and the whole town.


A Rose For Jonathan

Angels and Demons Series:

Book 1

By Beth Green

Copyright April 2015 All rights reserved

ISBN 9781311453433

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Winner of the New Apple Award For Excellence In Independent Publishing: Religion/Spirituality

Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards

Readers' Favorite Bronze Medalist in the Christian-Fiction category

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Friday, May 10, 1974

The time for the first event was drawing near. There were three of them; and they landed silently on a hill above the town to wait for it to begin. Dusk began to settle over the area, turning the sky into a mixture of pinks and blues, as a few clouds drifted lazily across the sky. Each large angel was covered in a flowing white robe with gold stitching and their wings were tucked in behind them, glowing slightly in the expanding darkness. Meris, the leader, was a full eight feet tall with long dark hair and pale blue eyes; and he wore a sword that glistened in the final rays of the sinking sun, as the wind gently swayed it back and forth on his waist. A grim expression covered his face, as he looked over at the other two angels, Nardic and Galdon, who were also tall; but they were a full half foot shorter. Galdon stood directly beside Meris, his leader, and waited patiently for orders, while the younger angel, Nardic, paced back and forth. Meris shifted his weight and glanced up toward the sky, as he listened to the Father; and then he nodded in response to the orders that only he could hear. Stepping forward, he swiftly drew his sword and pointed it toward the town.

"It's time, let's go!" he bellowed, as he lifted off to go toward the place that had been chosen.

The other two lifted their wings with a whoosh and flew swiftly with Meris to the north end of the town, where several demonic creatures were already gathering in response to the angel's presence. They had sensed the coming change but had no idea what it would be. One of the evil creatures screamed and ducked behind a tree, when he saw the large angels approaching; and the rest of the demons crouched low to the ground, covering their faces with their gray, scaly arms. Meris took his sword in both hands; and in a single motion, he sliced through the darkness surrounding the area, fully penetrating the entire region with a supernatural light. The demons scattered and screeched in response, while Meris held his wings open to allow the glow to fully engulf the place that they needed to protect. He gently moved his wings back and forth, sending an even brighter light radiating in all directions, fully disseminating any dimness that remained in the chosen area. The three angels stood guard for several minutes and then Galdon, the second in command, took his sword and rammed the blade into the earth, sending a loud Boom echoing throughout the region and simultaneously scattering any lingering demons well beyond the border of the light. Meris left these two powerful angels to return to the hill to watch. Only one human in the area felt their presence and saw the light, and she was only two years old. The little girl looked out her car window and squealed and pointed. Her mom was too preoccupied to notice and her sister looked over and saw nothing.

Several seconds passed and finally the moment arrived. A truck ran a red light and slammed into the van carrying the little girl and her family, obliterating the right side. Galdon held his wings taut and braced the impact to keep the others safe, while the younger angel, Nardic, held the perimeter of light in place. Only one person was to be taken...but not at this moment. Galdon looked up to the hill at Meris, who grimly nodded his approval and acknowledged that everything was all now in place. Several minutes passed and groups of people began to congregate, as paramedics rushed to help the victims. Over in the crowd that had gathered stood a tall angel, named Flint. He turned to glance over toward the nearby hill where he knew his leader, Meris, stood and they nodded to each other, indicating that it was now time for Flint to move. Flint shifted his gaze back over to scene of the wreck to find the man who had driven the truck and was now sitting on the curb with his head in his hands. A police officer was talking to him and had the man stand and touch his hands to his nose with his eyes closed. As Flint watched this man, his newest charge, a grim expression spread across his own face, knowing this was going to be an extremely difficult job. One more glance at Meris and Flint slowly moved to stand behind the man, completely invisible to all the people in the area.

Meris stood tall and firm on the hill with his large wings slightly open and they continued to glow gently in the moonlight. Nardic landed softly beside him and addressed his leader, "Everyone is waiting. Flint is with the man from the truck and Galdon has gone with the woman and little girl to the hospital, where reinforcements are already in place. The only one left down there is the young child that they are still working with in the van."

Meris continued to stare off into the distance watching the accident scene and listening intently to Nardic's message. His face never flinched, as his voice boomed out in response, "We need to move with them. I will take the young child myself, when the time comes."

Thirty-five years later...

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The entire church was full, along with the fellowship hall, the parking lot, and even the nearby warehouse, where television monitors had been placed to broadcast the pastor's message to all who were waiting. The crowds had grown so quickly each week, that the only adjustment that could be made was to open more space and have four services each week, along with the quick technological fixes to help broadcast the message to all who had come. With the new donations pouring in, a building committee had been formed and ideas were being discussed and debated on how to handle the rapidly growing congregation.

Pastor John Miles (Pastor John as he was called by most everyone) sat in his seat by the pulpit and watched the choir sing a powerful rendition of an old song, Beulah Land. The power came from two sisters, Marian and Kathy Martin, who had plenty of wind but hadn't hit a note correctly in years. It wasn't for lack of trying, because they never missed a practice or a service, much to the sorrow of the congregation. Through the years, their made up harmonies had grown louder and more dysfunctional; but no one had had the nerve to tell them otherwise. When the choir director decided to increase the volume of the organ in response, the sisters saw this as their cue to push even harder to be heard. Within a few years of this ongoing battle, the volume of the song service had reached almost unbearable proportions. Finally, Pastor John had been forced to step in and have the organist reduce her volume and allow the sisters to belt out their off key songs as they saw fit. The congregation was so used to the way the songs now sounded, that one eight year old boy, while visiting another church with his friend, didn't recognize the songs at all, when he heard them sung in tune. Fortunately, the Martin sisters had become more subdued through the years, as their age and ailments had piled up. The newer members of the congregation seemed unfazed by the two elderly ladies and their theatrics, as they gathered to hear the latest message from the well-known preacher.

Nardic and Galdon stood guarding the doorways of each of the two aisles in the small church. Nardic smiled and gently shook his head, as the two Martin sisters proudly belted out their dysfunctional melody. Galdon frowned and looked over at Nardic, who immediately straightened in response and tried to regain his composure, knowing Galdon disapproved of any humor during an assignment. As the choir began the last verse, Kathy Martin decided to start dancing in place, while Marian marched in a circle and joined in with some excessive arm movements that had nothing to do with the words from the song. Nardic stifled a laugh; and he exchanged a secret smile with the young preacher's daughter, Rosie. Galdon cleared his throat and glared at Nardic, who simply looked at him and shrugged. How was he supposed to keep a straight face when those two women put on such a show?

The entire room, along with those in the atrium, fellowship hall, and nearby warehouse, both spiritual and human, watched as Pastor John stood and wiped his brow with a handkerchief for the third time, while he looked out at his congregation. Several were trying not to wince as Kathy Martin tried for another note that didn't exist and Marian attempted to match it with another note an octave lower, causing one small child in the front row to hold her hands over her ears. Pastor John was sweating profusely under his robe; and he again wished that the building committee would make some decisions on when to break ground on the new sanctuary. The current one was wrought with problems, including an air conditioner unit that was in bad need of replacement; and with the swelling crowds, the body heat quickly overcame the ailing air conditioner, as it chugged along trying to keep up. When the song ended, Pastor John pushed up his glasses, turned to thank the choir, and then stepped up to the pulpit.

"I love the way that song ends! It blesses my heart."

In the second row, Pastor John's father, Roger Miles, leaned over to his wife, Terry, and whispered, "It blessed us all for that song to end!" She punched him in his ribs and shielded her mouth to hide her smile, then tried to focus on what their son, Pastor John, was saying.

"I would like to do something a little different today," Pastor John said and waited for everyone to perk up. He watched as a small wave of movement rippled through his flock; and several people even slid forward on their seats. Anticipation was added to the air of excitement to create an almost palpable silence; and no one dared to even shift in their seats for fear of missing a single word due to a squeaky pew. With the crowd nearly holding its breath, waiting for the most recent news, Pastor John wiped his face again and straightened his glasses.

"My heart is full this morning. The last few days have been somewhat unusual for our family. So much has occurred that I only know to address you all with the facts and share what we have just now learned ourselves."

Not one noise could be heard except the preacher's voice. Several people would later report that mothers were practically sitting on their own children to keep them from making a sound, because something new had happened and no one wanted to miss a single word. Listening to her son, Terry sat at her husband's side and glanced over at the church busy body, Clara Burton, who was poised to memorize every morsel of information. Clara needed a new crusade to find her purpose among the newer members. She had already placed herself on every committee she could and given herself an unofficial title as Ambassador to the growing crowds.

"All of you know my daughter, Rosie."

Several people nodded; and Clara congratulated herself for already noting Rosie was not sitting with her mom today. There was a small ripple of response; and Pastor John looked down to try to catch his breath before he continued. He knew he had a lot yet to tell them and wanted to get it right.

"You are all familiar with something that I say every week. I always start my sermon by telling you that I am here because of a gift, yet few of you know the double meaning behind those words." Pastor John paused and looked at his notes, more to gain control of his emotions than to see the words written before him.

"Most of you have probably assumed that I have been alluding to the gift of salvation, which is partially correct; but it is not the full meaning. There has been another gift, one that I was aware of but never had the curiosity or the courage to know more about it."

Pastor John looked over at his wife, Lindsey, and then at his parents, who never missed a service and then at Lindsey's parents, who had only started to come over the last few weeks. He wiped the corner of his eyes and tried again to regain his composure.

"I think it's important for you all to know that what I am about to tell you all is a story that is still difficult for even me to believe." He looked back at Rosie, sitting on the seat behind him. She and her mother looked so much alike, almost like sisters. The meaning behind that thought hit him hard; and then he broke down slightly and had to take a moment to gather himself so that he could continue.

Several women began to cry, as they watched their beloved pastor struggle to tell them something that was incredibly painful. Lindsey mouthed 'I love you' and wiped the tears from her own eyes as well. Besides their parents, she and Rosie were the only ones that knew all the details of what Pastor John was about to say; and she began to silently pray for strength for everyone involved. Galdon and Nardic began to glow from the added prayer and both instinctively spread their wings in response. Galdon moved into place behind the preacher and placed a hand on him to give him added strength, although the glow in his wings was not as bright as it should have been.

In response, Pastor John stood up straight and gained some control over his emotions as he continued, "I spent some time yesterday reviewing all of this with my family and well...I'm not sure how to say this, so I think it's important for me to start at the beginning. Bear with me as I try to put this all together for you to understand." The angels in the room and outside guarding the perimeter held their wings open, glowing and daring any demon to come near.

Lindsey looked up at her husband and smiled, as her mind began to drift back and remember how they had first met and how this journey had begun that led them all to this day.


End file.
